MILFORD ---- The Lower Duck Pond, a postcard scene in the city's downtown, is no longer fit for humans thanks to a growing flock of about 150 Canada geese that have overrun the pond and its surrounding grassy shore, neighbors say.

"We have three kids and can no longer go near the pond because of the geese feces," said Kevin Brooks, of Plymouth Court, who puts much of the blame on those who drive in from other parts of town to feed the birds. "People litter, throw bags of bread, popcorn and cereal. It is a mess, and we have been writing the mayor about it."

Naturalists say there are two subspecies of Canada geese, or Branta canadensis. One dutifully flies north for the summer, spending the warmer months in the nation of their namesake. But there's a larger variety, the giant Canada goose, that's six pounds heavier and far more sedentary. And like rats, raccoons and houseflies, they thrive in environments that humans occupy, too.

To make matters worse, they live a long time as birds go -- about 15 to 20 years -- and a female typically raises about 70 young during her lifespan.

"It's not unusual for cities to have a problem with these birds," said Paul Curtis, of Cornell University, an expert on this and other problem animals. He said a number of strategies have been attempted to control their numbers, but few have had much effect.

Addling eggs, for example. The thinking was that by shaking the eggs and putting them back in the nest, the females would continue to incubate eggs that can't hatch. That does indeed happen, but Curtis said the addling strategy has almost no effect on their populations because females have too many nesting seasons in them.

Border collies is another. The dogs are natural herders, and it's in their nature to harass geese. But Curtis said that to be effective, it requires a "daily application," which is too expensive for most small cities like Milford.

"Feeding bans are definitely helpful," he said. "Nonlethal harassment techniques, such as dogs, are much less effective when people are feeding geese and the geese get both food-conditioned and habituated to humans."

He also said changing the shoreline landscape to one that's less inviting to geese, with more rocks and brambles, won't banish an established population.

Ron Berlen lives diagonally across the street from the pond and said that there's "a parade of people all day long" who feed the Canada geese.

"The only people who go near the pond are the ones who feed the birds. For everyone else, it's too disgusting," he said. "Poop everywhere."

Berlen has published a children's book, "The Soggy Truth," which urges children to tell their parents not to feed the geese.

Kara Flannery, Berlen's wife, said the volume of goose excrement has gotten to the point where mothers now outfit their kids with rubber boots for their bird-feeding expeditions. "And then they just hose them down when they get home."

Mayor Ben Blake said the city is exploring a number of options, most of them to make the pond less inviting to the birds. The city's Department of Health is also looking into the matter, Blake said.

One idea, he said, is to install a rotating underwater light, which can be unsettling to them. He has asked the city's two college interns to research other ways to discourage Canada geese.

By far the most effective course of action, naturalists say, is to round them up and euthanize them, a step that almost always results in hot tempers, lawsuits and other human vs. human behavior.

"You have to do it in the spring, after the winter molt and before the flight feathers grow out," he said. "Usually the third or fourth week of June."

Officials at the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said every city and town in the state has the right to develop a management plan that includes euthanizing the birds, but none have done so, fearing what the reaction might be.

"Every city and town in the state has the right to take matters into their own hands and work with us to development a management plan, and ultimately euthanize those birds and feed them to the homeless," said Min T. Huang, a DEEP migratory wildlife expert. "Towns have had that option since 2003, but not a single town has done that."

He said that a number of communities have gone "almost all the way," but have backed down as the roundup date approached and the "vocal minority" of those opposed to the plan made their opinions known.

The Lower Duck Pond is by no means the only part of the city with problem geese.

"They're just about everywhere," said Paul Piscitelli, the city's director of recreation. "At the baseball fields, the boat ramp -- there's goose droppings all over town."